Normalcy
by Haleybug52
Summary: Callen has never had a normal life, especially not with him as an NCIS agent for the Office of Special Projects, but what happens when he meets a girl who's slowly changing all that? Who makes him feel a small amount of normalcy in his hectic life?
1. Normalcy

**Callen has never had a normal life, especially not with him as an NCIS agent in the Office of Special Projects, but what happens when he meets a girl who's slowly changing all that? Who makes him feel a small amount of normalcy in his hectic life? **

_Normalcy:_

He walked into the small coffee shop she always occupied later on in the day. He went up to the counter and ordered coffee, black, and got a newspaper. He went and sat down across the table from her, not even bothering to see if she noticed him, he knew she didn't. Her earphones were in and her eyes were focused intently on the sketchbook in front of her. Her tongue peeked out from between her lips like it always did when she was focusing hard on something. He thought it was adorable, she on the other hand, was embarrassed every time he called her out on it.

This was how it usually went. He would get off of work and meet her here. He would order a coffee, read a newspaper, and wait for her to finish whatever she was working on. Until she was satisfied with her progress on her work she wouldn't move. It didn't even bother him how long he sat there, he loved watching her.

She was beautiful, and he told her every chance he got, no matter how many times she tried to deflect the compliments. Her gray-blue eyes followed every movement she made with the pencil in her hand, her eyes focused intently on the drawing. Her shoulder length blonde and brown hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She always said her hair got in her way when she drew, and even if it was down when she began, by the end it would be up. Her leather jacket was on the back of her chair, leaving her in a tank top, oversized flannel rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of light skinny jeans. Her "work clothes" as she called them.

He pretended to read the paper, but really he was watching her. He could never take his eyes off her. He thought she was beautiful, even when she had paint streaked across her forehead and down her cheeks, and sometimes that was how he found her when he showed up at her apartment on weekdays he had off.

She pulled her earphones out, but he didn't say a word. He knew she was still in what she liked to call her "zone". He patiently took a sip of coffee and turned the page. Finally, she put the pencil down and shut her sketchbook and she looked up, a wide smile on her face when she saw him sitting there. She began to put her array of pencils in their container and then put them, her sketchbook, and her earphones in her bag. He closed his newspaper, took the last sip of his coffee, and then got up, coming around the table to grab her bag for her while she put her jacket on. Then they exited the coffee shop.

"You look tired" she said glancing at him as they walked down the sidewalk.

"It was a long day, but its better now" he said looking at her with a smile. She grinned.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" he asked as they walked towards his Jag. She shrugged.

"I'm fine with anything" she replied as he opened the door for her. She stopped before she got in.

"Do I even want to know what happened to your last car?"

"I wanted a change" he said with a shrug. She rolled her eyes and got in. There was no way he could have "wanted a change" when he only had the last car for a few months.

He rounded the car and then got in. "Your place or mine? We can get take out and some beer."

"Yours, mine is currently a chaotic mess of paint, canvas, and anything else you can imagine. I know that you're getting tired of having to dodge all my stuff when you come over no matter how many times you say its okay" she said with a giggle that made him smile.

Most nights they ended up back at her place because it was closer, but some days she got extra inspired and created a chaotic mess in her apartment to the point where no one could maneuver in it unless it was her.

"My place it is. Chinese?" he asked as he drove through LA.

"You know me so well."

After grabbing takeout they made their way to his place and settled in for the night. It always surprised him how she didn't mind his severe lack of furnishings compared to her cluttered apartment. After eating they settled on the couch with beers and watched TV until she feel asleep with her head on his chest. He looked down at her and smiled. Her hair was down now and it covered half of her face. She looked so peaceful and innocent, and that was what he loved about her. Despite all the horrors he saw throughout the day, he knew that she would remind him that there was still good out there.

It was strange how normal she made his life seem, even if she knew hardly nothing about the real him. To her, he was Gregory Callahan. A lawyer that worked crazy hours for clients that paid well. When he was really G Callen, a undercover agent working for NCIS who lied for a living.

He hated lying to her, but it was for her safety. If she really knew what he did, then she was put in danger, and if anything happened to her...he didn't know what he would do.

Even the team knew nothing about her, all with the exception of Henrietta Lange because she knew everything. Not even his partner, Sam Hanna, knew.

He knew that as long as he kept her away from his world, and his world away from her she would be safe. Which meant if he wanted this to work, which he did badly, he would have to keep living a lie. He would have to keep being Gregory Callahan, because it was all for her.

His phone rang and he quickly tried to answer it before it woke her up. "Yeah?" he said looking down at her. "There's a case, we need you to come in" said Eric over the phone.

"I'll be there in ten" he said as she began to stir. He quickly hung up the phone and watched as she sleepily opened her gray-blue eyes.

"Who was that?" she asked, yawning, and God she looked adorable when she did it.

"It was the office, I have to go in, they called an emergency meeting for this big case I'm working on" he replied easily kissing her forehead. She sighed and then sat up.

"Go, I'll be here when you get back" she said. He kissed her gently and then picked her up. She let out a laugh as he carried her down the hall towards his bedroom. He laid her on the bed and kissed her again.

"I'll be back as soon as I can" he promised. She nodded running a hand through his short hair and kissed him again. He got up and then headed for the door, locking it behind him. He went and got in his car, and looked at the window in his bedroom. The curtain was pulled back and she was standing there, watching him. She blew him a kiss and he waved before backing out of the driveway.

He hated lying to her, but it kept her safe. He loved the normalcy that she brought to his crazed life, and if he was honest with himself, he loved her too.

**AN: Has it really been as long as I think it has since I've wrote something? Many apologies, but life happens. It's senior year, cue college applications, graduation, and a fun little thing that takes up all my time called AP English. Leave a comment, or whatever you want, and maybe I can get back to writing again with my crazy life. xoxo**


	2. Welcome Home Dinner

Called walked through the doors of OSP after being undercover for the past two weeks. The rest of the team had already left for the night when he heard footsteps. He turned around to see Hetty with a pile of clothes in hand.

"Welcome back, Mr. Callen" she said.

"Thanks Hetty" he said.

Hetty walked into the bullpen and placed the pile of clothes carefully on his desk. Then she headed for the door.

"If you plan on going to see someone in particular, Mr. Callen, I think it would be best if you shaved, and took a shower. You smell awful" she said before departing for the night. Callen chuckled and grabbed the clothes, heading for the showers.

He looked in the mirror and saw what she meant. He was covered in dirt and grim, probably from being in the unpleasant living conditions he occupied for several weeks. He ran a hand over his chin and felt the prickling of facial hair. That had to go.

After showering and shaving, he placed his old clothes in the trash, there was no way Hetty would want those back. She would have burned them before letting them go back into wardrobe. He changed into the clothes Hetty and given him and then headed out of the office towards the parking garage to his Jag.

He then headed for a flower shop he had visited before and picked up a bouquet of roses, heading for her apartment.

Callen pulled up to the apartment complex and saw her car sitting in its usual parking space and he smiled, glad that she was home and he hadn't came all this way for nothing. He grabbed the flowers and headed for her apartment on the fifth floor.

He smiled when he got to her door and heard music blaring from the other side. He hid the flowers behind his back and then knocked loudly, hoping she heard above the stereo. Moments later the door opened revealing a pair of shocked gray-blue eyes.

"You're back" she said, shocked. Then a smile lit up her face as she opened the door further and let him in. He smiled.

"I am" he said as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. He pulled the flowers from behind his back and then handed them to her. She smiled and buried her nose in them, smelling the fragrance from the roses.

"They're beautiful G, thank you" she said kissing him quickly. She went and turned the stereo down before heading towards the kitchen to find a vase for them. Callen shut the door and followed her.

He looked around the apartment and was shocked to see that it was surprisingly clean, at least, for her standards it was. There were still easels and stacks of canvases taking over what should be the dining room, but the living room actually looked clean. There were no paint pallets, cups of colored water, or paint brushes littering the coffee table. The papers on her desk were stacked neatly and pushed away from her computer and tablet.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or did Sarah Shaw actually clean her apartment?" Callen teased leaning against the island in the kitchen.

Sarah turned off the water and placed the flowers in the vase before shooting Callen a mock glare. "Believe it or not Gregory Callahan, my apartment can be clean at times" she said before laughing and placing the vase on the island.

"So, how was New York?" she asked leaning against the island across from him. He had told her that he would be in New York for several weeks for meetings with the firm's office located there.

Callen shrugged. "Boring, just a bunch of mandatory meetings about things we already knew that just wasted our time" he replied.

"So no exploration of the city that never sleeps?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Callen shook his head.

"Nope, but the Chinese there is pretty good" he said and she laughed. Callen smiled, he had missed that laugh.

"So, how about some lasagna?" she asked heading towards the cabinet.

"You mean frozen lasagna right?" Callen teased referring to the multiple frozen meals she kept stocked in her freezer. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes, grabbing two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.

"No, I mean real lasagna. Believe it or not G, but I can cook" she said opening the wine and pouring them both a glass.

Callen shook his head. "Not sure I want to take my chances of being poisoned" he joked.

Sarah grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. "Very funny Mr. Callahan" she said.

"I try" he said before bringing her closer and kissing her. Callen wasn't keen on admitting things, but there was one thing he would gladly admit to her.

"I missed you, Sarah" he said quietly, looking into her eyes.

"I missed you too, Greg" she said just as quietly as he did. He kissed her again and then he watched as she pulled away. She grabbed a glass of wine and handed it to him before grabbing the other.

"Now, lets make that lasagna and celebrate" she said taking a sip of wine. He smiled and then took a sip of his before rolling up his sleeves to help her.

She opened the fridge and began to take the ingredients they would need out and placed them on the counter.

"Oh, Greg?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to burn my apartment down, will you?"

He laughed. "I can't make any promises" he said and she laughed with him.

As they worked together, side by side, in her kitchen Callen couldn't help but like what this was. Being with her, here, tonight, was making him forget all about the undercover assignment he had just done, and what he had to do while on it. This made him feel...this made him feel like he was just a normal guy, and to anyone else, they looked just like a normal couple, cooking and celebrating his return home from a business trip.

Callen couldn't help but feel like this was something he wanted in the long run.


	3. Christmas Tree

"You're telling me you never had a real Christmas?" Sarah asked, shock written all over her face as they walked down the streets in LA, her arm linked through Callen's. He shook his head.

"I grew up being bounced around from foster home to foster home, some families tried to give us Christmas, but in the end it didn't work out" Callen said with a shrug weaving some of his real life into his life with her.

She looked at him for several moments before saying, "That's it! It's time for you to have a proper Christmas, Gregory Callahan! First off, we need a tree!" She then began to drag him down the street towards a place that sold Christmas trees.

"And where is this Christmas tree going to stay?" Callen asked warily looking at the plant, even though he had to admit it smelled nice. Sarah looked up from looking at one, a serious look on her face.

"You're place, obviously. Do you really think a tree is going to fit in my apartment when it looks like a tornado just went through it?"

Callen shook his head and backed away from the tree, hands held up. "There is no way in hell that thing is going in my house. I have a horrible track record with things that live, especially plants."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Stop being over dramatic, its a tree, all you have to do is keep water in it," she said before turning to the salesman, "we'll take this one."

Callen looked from the tree to her, and seeing that she was giving him a look that almost rivaled Hetty's he gave in and sighed, "Alright, we'll get the stupid tree and put it up at my place."

Sarah's face lit up in a smile and she jumped up and down, cheering and clapping her hands. She quickly came over and kissed him. "I knew you would say yes eventually, G" she said with a sly grin. Callen just shook his head and smiled. They loaded the tree onto the top of her SUV and then headed to her house to pick up decorations before finally ending up at his house.

"How the hell do people deal with these things every year?" Callen grumbled as he wrestled the tree in through the door towards the living room, Sarah following behind him with several boxes of decorations and lights.

"Maybe because most people enjoy putting one up every year" she teased as she pulled a stand out out from the top box and placed it on the floor in front of the window so that Callen could place the tree in it. Callen just grunted as his response before picking the tree up and placing it in the stand. She then went into the kitchen and filled a cup of water and came to pour it in the tree.

She saw Callen watching and she said "Make sure you keep water in it, we don't want it to die."

"It's a week before Christmas, I think I can keep it alive until then" Callen replied.

Sarah gave him a look. "You're the one that said you had a horrible track record with plants, G" she said before going and opening the boxes.

"What do you have in here?" he asked coming over to peer in.

"Decorations I've collected over the years, stuff like that" she said with a shrug as she pulled out decorations while Callen began to work on wrapping lights around the tree. When he was finished he came and sat beside her, picking up an ornament.

It was a white bulb that had California painted on it with the lettering Los Angeles – 2009. He looked at her and then back at the bulb.

"Did you paint this?" he asked. She turned her attention to him and the ornament in his hand.

"Yeah, I painted that my first Christmas out here, I had a tree put no ornaments, none that seemed personal anyway, so I went to the store, bought some clear and white bulbs and painted stuff on them, seemed like fun" she said before pulling out several other ornaments similar to the one in his hand.

One was painted navy with the buildings and a skyline, outlined in gold. Under it the words "The City of Angles" was painted in white. Another was white with mistletoe painted around it, and one had some trees in a field on snow painted on it.

"They're beautiful" he said looking up at her. She gave a shy smile, sure, she got compliments from her clients, but it was different when Callen gave her a compliment. She couldn't really explain it.

"Thank you, now lets get them on the tree" she said standing up and placing the ones in her hand around it.

Callen placed one on the tree before moving it because he thought it looked wrong it that place. After moving it several times he finally just put it somewhere and then backed away. "I'm doing this all wrong, you decorate it, I'll watch" he said.

"Not happening G. You're helping, there's no wrong way to decorate a Christmas tree" she said before putting another ornament in his hand. She gave him a pointed look until he finally placed it on the tree.

"See, it looks perfect right there, now get another one"she said from the opposite side of the tree. Callen opened his mouth to protest but decided against and went to retrieve another ornament from the box. After a while, they had all the ornaments on the tree, and Sarah had Callen hanging two stockings from his fireplace as she placed a rug around the tree to collect the falling needles.

Callen handed her a beer and she took it, wrapping her other arm around his waist. "See, you didn't do a bad job, did you now?" she teased bumping her shoulder against his.

"I guess not, but if it wasn't for you, this place wouldn't look anything like it does now" he admitted.

"What does it look like now" she asked curiously.

Callen looked down at her and smiled. "A home, ready for Christmas" he replied, kissing her as she smiled.

Later that night that sat on the couch, her head on his chest. Her eyes were closed contently as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You know, we should have a Christmas party" she said softly, and Callen froze.

"A what?" he asked.

She opened her eyes so that gray-blue was staring into pale blue. "A Christmas party? What normal couples do over the holidays? Have you seriously never been to one?" she asked.

"Only the ones at the office, and those usually end with someone making eggnog that everyone complains about being to strong, besides, you're the one that says normal is overrated" he replied with a small smile.

Sarah sighed before sitting up and facing him. "Come on G. It would be fun, you would invite your friends, who I have yet to meet. We've been dating for over six months and I haven't met a single friend of yours!" she said.

"Maybe it's because I like keeping you all to myself, besides who said I even have friends" he teased, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of his teammates meeting her, especially when she knew nothing about what he really did for a living.

"Invite your coworkers then, lets just do something to celebrate the holidays _with other people_" she said with a pointed look as he opened her mouth.

Callen sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, he was just hoping for later. He really didn't want to bring the team into this but he knew that Hetty was right when she had caught him off guard one day and told him she would find out eventually.

"Alright," he sighed, "I guess I can invite a few people from work over."

Sarah grinned and threw her arms around him. "Don't worry, it'll be fun. We'll have it the day before Christmas Eve, everyone will probably be with their families then. That means you have time to invite everyone and I have time to get everything together" she said excitedly.

Callen couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement and couldn't help but get a little excited himself, even though worry outweighed the excitement.

"Whatever you want, babe" he said kissing her. _What could possibly go wrong? _

**AN: Sorry for such a long delay and I apologize for this along with the next chapter being after the holidays, but I have learned that Mountain Dew does not like computers. It was a struggle typing out this chapter and the one after this. It was also the holidays, and I hope everyone had a wonderful one. In other news, I was also accepted to the college I wanted to go to, which is a great weight lifted off my shoulders. Anyway, hope you enjoy.**


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